A Different Kind of Source Code
by FictionWriter91
Summary: While Colter is still getting used to being Sean Fentress and trying to save the train from blowing up, Christina is discovering that she is remembering certain things that don't make sense. How can a woman spilling coffee be the exact same? Why can she remember a ball of fire? Why does she remember Sean being struck by a train? Is she living the same day over again? Well, she is.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all! So I watched Source Code again the other night, and I got this idea that won't leave me alone. I know, I know, someone is gonna ask me "How is it possible for Christina to relive the experience like Colter did?" Well, I'm using my imagination and pretending that like in Edge of Tomorrow, Sean's blood from the first time Colter died beside her gave her the ability to relive the same day. It's an idea, and please don't be critical of it. For all we know, all the passengers on that train could have remembered too. I dunno. I'm just shooting for an interesting story here, that's all :)**

* * *

Christina looked over at Sean, who was gazing out the window. She felt like she was having deja vu, and the feeling just wouldn't go away.

"I took your advice," she said, making Sean look at her. "It was very good advice." She smiled at him. He stared back at her blankly.

"Sean?"

"Hm?" he asked.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yea. My advice was good," Sean nodded. Christina watched him carefully. There was something...different about Sean today, but she couldn't figure out what exactly.

"Are you okay? You look sick," she noted. He started looking wildly around him, and he jumped when the woman passing spilled coffee on his shoe.

"Oh dear," Christina said, pulling out kleenex and bending to wipe it off. "She does that a lot it seems." It had happened yesterday too. Or at least, she thought it had been yesterday. She frowned to herself. It was almost too exact to have happened twice in a row. Christina looked around the train car, examining the other passengers. They looked familiar too. What was going on?

"It's the same train but different," Sean murmured.

"That's deep," Christina laughed. "I hope it's different."

"You're the distraction," Sean said suddenly, grinning like he had discovered something.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Every simulator has one," Sean muttered, looking at everything with great interest.

"Simulator?" she questioned as the ticket man punched a hole in Sean's ticket.

"Excuse me," Sean said, getting up abruptly after the ticket man had left. Christina watched him leave with interest. He headed for the bathroom. She immediately dug into his bag. Maybe she didn't really know Sean as well as she thought. They did, after all, only ride the train together. Yes, what she was doing was wrong, but she had to know. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything except his day planner where her name and the word coffee were circled three times.

...

He looked in the mirror, sweat beading on his forehead. The bomb. Gotta find the bomb. He searched the room wildly. Then he spied the grate not completely shut. That had to be it. He climbed up and shoved it open, finding a very big, very scary looking bomb.

"Goodwin, how do I disarm it?" Colter asked. He didn't get a response. "Should I unplug it or leave it?" He eyed it, feeling like he didn't want to get blown up just yet.

"I'm gonna leave it," he said, climbing back down. He went out and down the aisle. He grabbed his wallet, which told him he was a Sean Fentress, and immediately started acting like some kind of agent, instructing people to turn off their cell phones and laptops. He got some flak, and people started yelling at him, and Christina kept trying to make him sit down.

...

He punched someone in the face! Sean! Christina stared in horror.

"I think you broke his jaw!" she gasped.

"It's okay. He's no more real than you are," Sean explained to her.

"I'm not real?" she asked, confused. Then she got mad. "Drive yourself to work next time!"

"There won't be a next time," Sean said. The roar behind them made Christina whirl her head around. The ball of flames engulfed them both, and then it was black.

...

Christina opened her eyes and saw Sean sitting across from her, looking out the window. She felt her heart begin to race. There was that deja vu feeling again. He looked at her again with a smile.

"I took your advice," she said. "It was very good advice." _Holy crap! I knew I was gonna say that!_ Christina's mind was whirling. She darted her eyes around to the other passengers. They all looked familiar. When the woman spilled coffee on Sean's shoe, her mind was made up. She was reliving a train ride. So that made her what, asleep? Stuck in a dream? How could she wake up?

"You all right?" Sean asked her, looking concerned.

"Huh? Yea," she answered. She was freaked out and trying to remember how to wake up from a dream. Pinch yourself? _Ow!_ Nope.

"You sure?" Sean asked again. His voice seemed faded.

"I'm fine," she said hurriedly. No, she was darn well not fine, but Sean would never understand what was going through her mind right now. The ticket man approached them.

"How are you today?" Sean asked. "Anything odd or unusual on this train this morning? Weird people? Strange comments?"

"Just you," the ticket man grunted, giving him a look before walking away. Christina examined Sean. Why would he be asking if anything was odd or unusual? He noticed her looking.

"Hey, come here," he said, gesturing. She hesitated. "Come on! Come here." He patted the seat beside him. She moved over to sit next to him.

"What?"

"Think of it as a game," he said. "Look at these people. Does anyone seem abnormal?"

"They're all normal, Sean," she laughed nervously.

"That's what's terrifying," Sean muttered. They both saw a man come out of the bathroom.

"Has anyone else come out of there today?" Sean asked her. She gave him an odd look.

"Yea. You," she answered.

"Me?" he asked, suddenly scared. "Really? Me?" He dived into his bag suddenly, pulling out a day planner. She saw her name written in there. She blinked. That was familiar. She had seen that before. It was circled three times.

"Coffee with Christina?" Sean read to himself. "Christina?"

"Yea?" she answered. He looked at her, and she saw it dawn on him that that was her name. How did he not know her name? The train slowed, getting ready to let people off.

...

Colter sensed something about Christina that he couldn't figure out. He saw the man from the bathroom get up to leave the train, and he wanted to follow.

"Hey, come on," he said suddenly. Christina looked at him oddly.

"This isn't our stop," she laughed nervously.

"I know, but let's be spontaneous," he suggested. "Come on! Let's get coffee now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea! Grab your stuff," he said. He didn't want to let the man out of his sight. She obliged and he took her hand.

"You want to get coffee now?" she asked again.

"Yes. I really don't have a good feeling about this train," Sean answered. Christina felt something in her memory, something loud and bright and hot. She didn't voice it. They got off the train, and he gestured for her to sit.

"I'll be right back," he said. "Then we'll get that coffee." She watched him trail after the man from the bathroom, and her gut started to feel sick. After a few minutes, he came out yelling at the man, and they started fighting. Christina tried to intervene, but she couldn't make him stop. An explosion sounded off in the distance, and they all stopped while Sean stared at the fiery ball in the sky.

"It wasn't you," he said to the man, stunned. Christina looked at him. What did that mean? Sean started tussling with the man again, who shoved him back, and Sean fell backwards onto the tracks below, hitting his head. A train's horn sounded a few feet away.

"Sean!" she screamed. "Get up!" The train was coming faster now. The man beside her was shouting at him also. Sean was lying on the tracks, holding his head and moaning.

"Give me your hand!" the man beside her shouted, reaching. Christina screamed in horror as the train struck Sean at full force.

...

Christina opened her eyes and saw Sean sitting across from her on the train. She sat up boltright in her seat. How could this be? She had seen him die right in front of her eyes. She closed them tightly now, trying to remember. What had happened next? Why couldn't she remember what had happened next?! She opened them again and stared at Sean, who was looking back at her.

"You're still here," he said numbly.

"Of course I am," she answered, feeling scared now. Was Sean experiencing the same thing she was? How could she even ask him without freaking him out? Her mind buzzed. Images flashed in her mind. Explosion. Heat. Pain. Screaming. Dying. Then she was back here. Something very, very strange was happening to her, and she had no idea who to even ask for help.

* * *

 **So what did you think? And please don't be harsh!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I didn't really expect a lot of attention to this story since the fandom is so small, but to my one reader who's favorited this story, thanks! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Christina was looking panicked, Colter noticed. It briefly flashed through his mind that perhaps she was experiencing the same thing he was, like this was a sick game where everyone just kept dying until someone found the answer. Colter felt bad for Christina. He knew that she died, and he knew that even if he found the bomber, she would still die.

"Guess what?" Christina asked, trying to look calm. Colter read through the act. There was something wrong with her.

"You quit your job and signed up for a law course," Colter answered.

"Good guess," she said slowly. Colter thought he saw fear flash in her eyes. He dodged the lady with the coffee so that it didn't spill, and he turned to her just before her phone rang.

"Don't answer that," he said. Christina looked at her phone. "You deserve better than that guy."

"How did you know...?" she trailed off. She looked at him carefully while he held out his ticket for the ticket man just as he came along.

"How well do you know me?" he cut her off.

"Not that well apparently," she answered. She picked at her fingers, anxious.

"Could you still trust me if I was a bit dangerous or a little strange?"

"No."

"That was honest," Colter commented. He leaned forward. "You are beautiful, kind, and painfully honest." He got up to leave.

"Who are you?" Christina asked as he walked away.

...

Who was he? It was like he wasn't even Sean! Christina sat there feeling unsure of what to do next. Follow him? Confront him? Where would that even get her? She searched her memories again. Something was not right, not right at all. He even knew all the things that she was going to say and what was going to happen before they did. Maybe she wasn't the only one having deja vu here. How could she ask? She went to the bathroom and splashed her face with water. After standing there and looking at herself in the mirror for a moment, she took a deep breath and tilted her head back. That's when she saw the grate. It wasn't closed all the way.

...

Colter was being very careful not to make too much noise getting the gun out. There was no need to get everyone all excited. Once he was in the small room, his heart started pounding. He waited a moment before smashing the glass and reaching in for the gun. He got to look at it for half a second before he was grabbed from behind. There were two of them, and he couldn't get them off.

...

The shouting interrupted her just as she was lifting the grate. She dropped it with a clang, and hurried out to the train car. She saw Sean being hauled around and handcuffed to a seat bar. She rushed over. She heard the other men going on about a gun and a safe box.

"You tried to get the security box gun?" she asked Sean, shocked. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Can I use your phone?" he asked, ignoring her questions.

"No! Sean, tell me what's going on!" She saw him look at his watch for the second time. What was with him? She felt a sense of impending doom suddenly, like she'd experienced something similar to this before.

"What would you do if you had a minute left to live?" Sean asked. She stared at him.

"I don't know..." This was getting more odd. It was like Sean also knew something bad was going to happen.

"I'd call my Dad," he went on. "Tell him I'm sorry. Hear his voice one last time." He looked at her again. "Tell me everything is gonna be okay."

"Everything is gonna be okay," she said instantly because he wasn't the only one who needed to hear it. She turned her head at the sound of an explosion, and the wall of fire came crashing towards them. Then it was dark.

...

"Gun in the strongbox," Colter said sarcastically as he looked around his prison again. "That was a genius idea. Thank you very much for that one."

"Did you make any progress?" Goodwin's voice asked.

"What do you think?" he snapped back. "Can I please have access to a phone?! I need to call my father!"

"I'll get to that soon," Goodwin responded.

"How am I even doing?" Colter asked. "I have no way of gauging my performance in here. Am I doing any better than you? You've done this, right?"

"No, I am not a viable candidate," Goodwin replied. "We are wasting time here. Captain, you should have found the suspect by now."

"Wait a minute," Colter started. He was remembering something. Christina. Her face. It was like she knew...

"This is a tremendous tool we've given you," Goodwin went on. "Do not waste it thinking. Whoever planted the bomb had equipment. Look for that."

"Wait!" Colter shouted as he felt himself being hurled back.

...

Christina opened her eyes and immediately touched her face. She was alive. She didn't die. She looked around. Everything was the same. The people were the same. Sean was the same. Sean. She looked at him. He had tried to get the gun out of the security box. How could that be possible when he was sitting right here in front of her? Images of a big ball of fire again...

"I think I'm trapped in a dream," she blurted out. Sean looked at her curiously.

"How so?"

"I-I don't know. I keep getting here, wherever 'here' is, and I keep remembering things..." she trailed off.

"What kind of things?"

"Things! Explosions. Dying. You getting into fights with people on this train. I think I'm stuck in a nightmare, and I don't know how to wake up," she finished, looking at Sean and trying to read his expression.

"Interesting," he commented. Christina didn't mention another memory. The grate.

"Hey," he said, cutting into her thoughts. "Does this look familiar to you?" He showed her a drawing of some kind of badge.

"No," she shook her head. "But it looks like a military patch. Were you military?"

"A friend of mine was," Sean answered. "Actually, I'm really worried about him. I haven't heard from him in a while. Could you maybe look him up for me on your phone? See what you can find?"

"I can," she agreed. This was different. She didn't remember this conversation. Maybe the dream was over?

"Thanks," Sean smiled at her. The grate was now a big presence in her mind. She was amazed she even heard what Sean was saying to her.

"Excuse me," she said, getting up and hurrying to the bathroom. If it was the same, then she was definitely stuck in a nightmare.

...

Colter began his hunt as soon as Christina left. He thought about her comment, how she felt like she was stuck in a nightmare. If he had to do this again, he'd ask her if she was experiencing the same train too. He made people angry again by going through their stuff. One guy was really particular about his bag, but even after upending it, there was nothing there. He went up to the upper level and spied a lady sitting there looking at him with fear.

"Hi," he said, kneeling beside her. "I noticed your bag said Walter Reed. You work there?"

"I used to," she answered. "What was going on down there?"

"I'm military," Colter went on. "I'm wondering if you can help me decipher this." He showed her the drawing. She stared at it.

"It's airforce," she said. "The 'n' stands for nellis..."

"Thank you," Colter breathed. "Can I use your phone? I'll give you a 100 dollars."

"I don't want your money, just bring it back," she said, handing it to him.

...

Christina stared at her phone. Colter Stevens had died two months ago. How was she going to tell Sean? Then she looked up at the grate. Maybe it could wait. She was obviously going to get back here. The grate being offset was proof that she was stuck in some weird continuum of some kind. She found Sean upstairs on the phone.

"Yea you tell Rutledge that this is Captain Colter Stevens," he was saying. She paused. Odd. That person was dead. She cleared her throat and went over to him.

"Sean?"

"Yea?"

"Your friend. I'm so sorry. He died two months ago," she said.

"What?!" he exclaimed, taking the phone from her. He read the page. Christina could see the intense fear in his eyes. Something was wrong here. Then, right on schedule, it got very hot and very black.


	3. Chapter 3

Christina already knew Sean would be looking out the window when she opened her eyes. He seemed extra jittery. She excused herself and went to the bathroom. This time, she was going to look past the grate. She pulled herself up and shoved it out of the way. When she poked her head through the hole and turned, she clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. There was a bomb. A bomb was on this train. That explained the fiery wall and death. Was it death? She kept coming back, so it couldn't be true death. None of this made sense. She lowered herself slowly. She had to tell someone about the bomb. She hurried to find a conductor or security.

"Excuse me!" she called, getting one's attention. "Sir!" She ran up to him.

"Yes?"

"There's a bomb on this train," she hissed.

"Say that again?" the conductor asked harshly.

"There is a bomb in the bathroom on this train," she repeated.

"Please stay here, ma'am," the conductor instructed. She watched as he hurried down to the bathroom. Then he came out just as fast and called for help. She rushed back to Sean, who was wandering the train and interrogating people.

"Sean!" she cried. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"There's a bomb on this train," she whimpered.

"Shit," Sean said, pushing her aside and running towards the bathroom. She stared. She hadn't told him where it was. How did he know? Yelling ensued. She ran to find Sean being handcuffed again.

"It's not my bomb! I'm trying to save you all!" Sean was shouting angrily. "What do you think I've been doing over and over again?!"

Over and over again?

Christina now knew for sure that Sean was stuck in the same nightmare she was.

...

"Goodwin, soldier to soldier, am I dead?"

"A part of your brain is still activated," she answered.

"And the rest of me?" Colter asked. "I...I can see my legs and feet. They move."

"They are a manifestation. They are a way of making sense of this."

"So, you're saying that I'm imagining all of this?" Colter was freaking out now. He really was dead! "The capsule, everything."

"Yes."

"Where am I?"

"That's classified."

"Oh come on!" Colter shouted, banging his fist against the wall. Dr. Rutledge took over now.

"I can only imagine what you're feeling right now, but in order to prevent a second attack, I need you to go back in there. You can't deviate from the mission inside the Source Code to find out what happened to you. There's only one continue on this end, and you can't unsettle it."

"But I did unsettle it," Colter said smartly. "I called from the train. 7:46 this morning."

"You may have called, but I wouldn't have received it, and if I did, it would have been a different version of me," Rutledge said.

"This can't be legal," Colter snapped.

"You know, most soldiers would prefer this to death," Rutledge said. "They still get to serve their country."

"How long have you spent in battle?" Colter asked.

"That's not relative."

"Any soldier would tell you that one death is enough."

"All right, then that's what you'll get in return for completing this mission."

"What?"

"Death." Rutledge turned to Goodwin then. "This is taking too long. Send him back in. No more breaks. I am sure we can find other men with similar injuries who would be honored to do this." Then he was gone.

"Captain Stevens? I want you to try to remember that this isn't just about you, it's about two million real people in the world we're talking about here."

"All right, I get it. Send me back." Colter didn't say a word about Christina and how she was reliving the same train repeatedly as well. No sense in getting everyone all riled up for nothing.

...

Colter watched Christina with new interest this time. She opened her eyes and met his.

"You remember it all, don't you?" he asked.

"You do too?" she whispered.

"Yes," he nodded. He had gotten an answer about what he was doing from Goodwin. Source Code. How, then, was Christina doing it? He didn't understand. Then again, he didn't fully understand Source Code either.

"So there's a bomb on this train?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm trying to find the bomber," he told her.

"I want to help," she urged.

"All right," he agreed. Two sets of eyes were better than one.

"Where do we even start?" she asked, flicking her eyes around at the other passengers. They were all suspects to her now. She looked back at Sean. Perhaps that's how he'd been viewing them as too.

"Well, I've tried a few different things, and I haven't gotten very far," Colter answered. "I'm trying to figure out who put it there."

"Well, I can narrow out some," Christina said. "I am familiar with a few people on here."

"That's good," Colter nodded.

"May I ask, are you even Sean?" she asked. "Last time I heard you refer to yourself as Captain Colter Stevens..."

"That's right. Apparently, I'm dead, and they're using me to go back in time and save people," Colter replied.

"I...I don't even know how to respond to that," Christina stammered. "Who is doing this to you?"

"It doesn't matter anyway. We're wasting time," he said, getting up. Christina watched Sean, no, Colter, get up and start hassling people again. Then explosion and blackness.

...

Christina jolted awake, and Sean was staring at her.

"You still remember?" he asked.

"You're name is really Colter. You're looking for a bomb on this train," she answered quickly.

"Excellent. I'm not sure how you're remembering all this, but it's helpful for me," he said. "Come on." She followed, determined to stop from dying this time. Colter went into the bathroom and climbed up to look inside the grate.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Unhooking the phone," he answered.

"Do you know how to do that?!" she asked, afraid.

"Yup," he replied. To himself as he went to pull out the phone, "Please don't blow me up again." He grabbed it and dropped down.

"What are you gonna do now?" she asked.

"Call the bomber," he said simply. He dialed. Someone picked up. "I know it's you," Colter said. He started walking down the train. "I'm gonna find you." He spotted a man on his phone. "Turn around!" The man turned, gesturing to himself as though to say, "Me?"

"Yes, you," Colter said. "Back against the wall and give me your phone. Now. Put the bag over there." The man obliged. "You're not gonna hurt anymore people."

"I don't understand..."

"You're gonna trigger the bomb with your phone."

"No, I'm not. I have no idea what you're talking about," the man said, getting desperate.

"Sean, maybe he really doesn't?" Christina suggested.

"Not now," Colter told her sharply. He needed to focus.

"My name is George Corcell. I'm an engineer. I was talking to my wife," the man pleaded.

"Redial right now. When it rings, I'm gonna shoot you," Colter said.

"Sean!" Christina gasped. The man hurriedly redialed, and a woman answered.

"Shit," Colter said. "I am so sorry." He let the man go and caught sight of a different man intentionally dropping his wallet before getting off. Christina saw it too.

"Did you-?" she started.

"Yup," he answered. He raced to grab the wallet and chased after the man whose name was Derek Frost according to the wallet. He narrowly got off, and he followed the guy to a van parked in an abandoned parking lot. Christina managed to get off as well, and she chased after Sean. He didn't notice her behind him.

"Hey!" Colter called, making Derek turn around. "Derek Frost. You recognize this?"

"Nope," Derek answered.

"All right, show me your wallet then," Colter demanded. Derek didn't move.

"So I must have dropped it," Derek shrugged.

"No, you left it on purpose," Colter corrected. "You planted it there so everyone would think you were dead. I know it's you." He showed Derek the cell phone.

"How do you know so much?" Derek asked. He opened the door and revealed an even bigger bomb.

"What the hell is that thing?" Colter demanded. "Whoa, whoa, slow down!"

"Don't you wanna see it?" Derek asked.

"It's very patriotic," Sean said sarcastically. Then suddenly, Derek pulled a gun on him.

"Back it up," he said, his voice a low hiss now.

"What's your next target?" Colter asked. Derek snagged the wallet out of Colter's pocket.

"Sean Fentress. Teacher," he muttered.

"Sean!" Christina shouted. Colter felt his heart sink. How had she gotten off? Derek immediately reacted, shooting her in the chest. She fell into a heap on the ground.

"I don't know you," Derek went on. "I think I just killed your girlfriend." Colter was furious. He helplessly watched as Christina started dying in front of him.

"Why?"

"Cos you messed up my timing," Derek replied.

"Why?!"

"Oh, you mean all this? Because the world is hell, but we have a chance to start over again from the rubble. You're a teacher. You'll understand," Derek said. Then he shot Colter, who fell down beside Christina. She looked at him, terrified.

"It's all gonna be okay," Colter promised. "Just stay with me. You know it's gonna be okay. It's not the end." She nodded as best as she could. The train blew up in the background, making Colter frustrated that he still couldn't have stopped that. At least now, he could give Goodwin the information, and when he went back in, which he as going to make her do, he was going to save everyone once and for all.

* * *

 **Getting near the end. I think only one more chapter. I'm a little disappointed it's not getting many readers, but maybe one day it will. I'm still enjoying writing it.**


	4. Chapter 4

"I found your bomber," Colter said. "I got his name." He could see Goodwin's surprise and happiness on the camera.

"You do?" she asked, clarifying. Her excitement was shining through.

"Derek Frost. He's in a white van at the Glenbrook station parking. The tag number is 5CGY847."

"All right," Goodwin said. To the people behind her she said, "Move, people!"

"Goodwin? There's a radioactive device in the van. Some type of bomb."

"Thank you, Captain," Goodwin gushed. This was brilliant. Just brilliant.

"You're now off the clock," Rutledge said, smiling. He had come up after hearing the news.

"About our deal?" Colter asked.

"Oh, I was hoping you'd have forgotten about that," he said.

"I want something else now."

"Oh, what is it?"

"I wanna go back in and save the people on the train first," Colter said.

"It doesn't work like that," Rutledge said.

"I know, I'm just...I am asking you to let me try," Colter went on. Rutledge got sidetracked by the news that was broadcasting the arrest of Derek Frost. Then he was off celebrating. Goodwin remained.

"He's not gonna send me back in, is he?" Colter asked.

"The program isn't designed to change the past, it's supposed to change the future," Goodwin answered. "And you have done that."

"But I missed something. I was supposed to stop the train from blowing up, but it still did," Colter insisted. "There has to be a second detonator out there, one I missed."

"It's a computer program, Captain. Everyone on that train is lost," Goodwin said.

"They don't have to be," Colter argued.

"I'll ask Rutledge..."

"No, I'm asking you, not Rutledge. Send me back in. Please. Send me back in, and then shut me off. Just eight minutes." Colter watched her hesitate and think about it. Then a look of resolve crossed her face.

"At the end of this source code, I'll turn off your life support. You won't come back," she said finally.

"I'm gonna save them, Goodwin," Colter said.

"It was an honor working with you, Captain," Goodwin smiled. "Good luck."

...

"We're back," Christina breathed. "Why did it take so much longer this time?"

"I had to convince them to let me come back," Colter replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to save us all."

"How?" she asked.

"I know who it is and how and why. I'll be less than eight minutes," Colter told her. "Then you and I are gonna go for that coffee."

"Okay," Christina blushed. Even though he was Sean and looked like Sean, she could tell it was a different person inside of him. She wished she had gotten to know this Colter Stevens when he was alive and in his own body. She wasn't even sure why she was believing all of this anyway. Somehow, it didn't matter. Sean/Colter was going to save them and stop them from dying again.

...

Colter retrieved the gun first, then he went up to the bomb and unplugged the first phone. Then he reached at the back and found a second phone, which he also unplugged. Satisfied, he went to find Derek. It wasn't hard.

"Hey, Derek," Colter said, grabbing him by the arm and starting to haul him off. "I don't believe this is your stop."

"You dropped this," another guy said, handing Derek his wallet as they walked.

"Let's go, you son of a bitch," Colter said, yanking Derek somewhere private. "Game over. Understand?" He handcuffed Derek securely before taking Derek's phone and making a call. Derek just watched in shock the whole time.

"Hi," Colter said on the phone. "This is Derek Frost. I have a nuclear device in a white van at the Glenbrook station. I am currently chained to a pole on the 944 train en route to the Chicago station. I am a disturbed, disgusting human being, and I need to be locked up for the rest of my life." Colter hung up and looked at Derek.

"No burying the world in rubble today," Colter said. "You mind if I borrow this?" He didn't wait for an answer and just took Derek's phone. He had a phone call to make. One he should have made sooner.

...

Christina waited on pins and needles. She was anxious. Had Sean saved them? Then suddenly, he was there, and he was smiling.

"Well?" she asked, standing up.

"We did it," he grinned. She squealed and threw her arms around him, laughing.

"But, wait," she said. "What happens to you now?"

"I don't know," he confessed. "This is new to me." Christina didn't really know what she was feeling. She missed Sean, but Colter was also seeming like a nice guy. This was going to take some getting used to.

"So, is Sean really dead?" she asked. She had to know.

"I think so. Technically, you all are," Colter answered. "But I'm hoping I changed the fate of everyone aside from Sean. I'm really sorry I couldn't save him."

"Well, you had to use someone's body," Christina said. "I'm glad it was his. That way, I get to know you." Colter smiled at her. He looked down at his watch while the comedian started doing his bit.

"Has it been past eight minutes?" she asked.

"Right...now," he answered. They both looked up and around. Nothing happened. The train kept moving as usual. No explosions, no death. Christina had never felt so relieved.

"Can I ask a favor?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Where is the bomber?"

"Why?"

"I want to say something to him," she insisted. Colter nodded and took her to where Derek was crying and chained up. He looked up at her as she knelt in front of him. Then she socked him in the face as hard as she could. Derek cried out in pain. Colter was mightily impressed.

"That's for killing me!" she shouted at Derek, who now looked confused.

"You about done?" Colter asked, laughing.

"Yes," she answered. "Let's go." They went back to their seats and waited for the next stop.

...

"So, what do we do now?" she asked when the train stopped again.

"Wanna get a cup of coffee?" Colter suggested. She smiled.

"I have never wanted a cup of coffee so badly in my life," she laughed. They exited the train and set off into the world together. Colter hoped Goodwin had received his text message. He had also called his father and pretended to be a friend calling with condolences. Things were right again. Colter looked over at Christina, who was looking back at him. He couldn't believe his luck that such a woman would readily accept that he was someone else, but he was so grateful. He took in a deep breath and kept walking. This was his life now. He couldn't wait.

 **The End**


End file.
